August 8/10 16:47 pm - La Route de France Feminine: Stage 1

Posted by Editoress on 08/8/10

Cervélo TestTeam’s Sarah Düster (GER) won the prologue today at La Route de France. It was Düster’s second victory of the season, completing the 5.9 km course in 7:58 and puts her in the leader’s orange jersey at the start tomorrow. Teammate Elizabeth Armitstead (GBR) finished in ninth position and now wears the white jersey of the best young rider. Annemiek van Vleuten (NED - Nederland Bloeit) came second and Olga Zabelinskaya (RUS-Safi-Pasta Zara) was third.

“The course today was pretty hilly though it was a short course, just 5.9 km,” said Egon van Kessel, Sports Director. “As you can see by the result, it was a course made for strong riders. Sarah started at the beginning of the race, and she had to wait awhile, but it is great that she made it. If there is one rider who deserved this it is Sarah who always works really hard for the team.”

“I am really proud of my result, actually I can’t believe it,” said Sarah Düster after her victory. “I was sitting so long in the chair at the finish line, and all the big riders came in but nobody passed me. Today I went full gas from the start because I had really good legs and was able to keep it up all the way to the finish. The team, once again performed very well. Our goal is to keep the jersey as long as possible and we will work for it day by day.”